Commentary: NASCAR, Nashville would be perfect match

Wednesday

That includes professional sports, ranging from soccer to baseball and auto racing.

Major League Soccer ‘s Nashville SC will start playing in a new stadium at the Fairgrounds in 2020 and should be a success.

Baseball also has floated the idea of an expansion franchise in the Music City. Nashville has supported minor league baseball, even setting attendance records in the 1970s and 1980s, and would do better here than in Miami, Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh. Maybe even Atlanta.

But the sport that would fit the market best would be the return of an old friend — NASCAR. There are more NASCAR fans in the hills and hollows of Tennessee than soccer and baseball combined.

Top drivers, competing in the Grand National Series then Winston Cup, used to race at the Fairgrounds Speedway from 1958 until 1984. Many of us enjoyed watching Columbia’s Sterling Marlin, Franklin’s Darrell Waltrip and superstars such as Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt through the years.

NASCAR’s top series left because of disagreements with track operators. It’s long overdue for a comeback.

During the 1980s and 1990s, as auto racing grew in popularity, race promoters and track owners fell in love with super speedways, pushing out smaller tracks like the Fairgrounds.

After Earnhardt’s death in the 2001 Daytona 500, NASCAR surged in popularity to the point where I doubted the top series, now known as the Monster Energy Series, would ever return to Nashville without a 75,000-seat track.

The advent of the superspeedway seemed like a good idea at the time. It meant bigger gates, more money and fueled the perception of NASCAR as a major sport on par with the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball.

Middle Tennessee tried to get back in the game with a super speedway in Gladeville, off of Interstate 840 in Wilson County. It previously was owned by Dover Motorsports Incorporated and hosted various NASCAR and IndyCar events through the years with varying degrees of success. It never was able to lure the Cup series back, and the property was sold to a California developer.

Now a different racing group — Speedway Motorsports of Concord, N.C. — has proposed a $60 million renovation to the Fairgrounds track. It would like to land on the NASCAR’s schedule as soon as 2021. Speedway Motorsports owns Charlotte Motor Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway, among others.

The group made its effort known publicly Tuesday after behind-the-scenes negotiations with Nashville Mayor David Briley.

“We’re not here to sell you guys on racing in Nashville. We just believe we can help take the racing to the next level,” said Jerry Caldwell, executive vice president of Bristol Motor Speedway. “We believe we can create a guest experience like nowhere else in the country with soccer and racing co-existing and offer an unparalleled experience.”

Caldwell’s presentation featured ideas for a 30,000-seat and financing ideas for the project.

“This is your racetrack,” Caldwell said. “This racetrack belongs to the people of Nashville. We see tremendous potential … and are willing to offer our resources and experience in partnership with you.”

The Nashville renovation hopefully would be part of an effort for NASCAR to return to its roots. Smaller tracks, with better fan experiences and nicer amenities, are desperately needed for NASCAR to regain popularity.

NASCAR President Steve Phelps said earlier this month that “there will be changes” in the 2021 schedule. That was a hint Speedway Motorsports might move one of its less-popular races to Nashville. Speedway Motorsports owns eight tracks with Monster Energy Cup events.

If the Fairgrounds is going to lose the State Fair to a destination like Maury County amid construction of the soccer stadium, Nashville movers and shakers should go all in and bring NASCAR back where it belongs.

Though not as popular as old-timers like Marlin, Waltrip and Petty, the current crop of drivers would find an instant welcome in Middle Tennessee.

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Front-page columnist James Bennett is editor of The Daily Herald. His column mixes exclusive reporting, old-school storytelling and original commentary. He’s been a Tennessee Press Association first-place award winner for editorial writing, news reporting and public service since joining the newspaper in 2014. Contact him at jbennett@c-dh.net.

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